Soleus Watch Review + Giveaway Announcement!

The blog hit 7,000 followers over the weekend which means it’s time for a new giveaway! I am so thankful for all of you guys that continue to follow along with me while I cook, craft, share my home and favorite things … it seemed like we were at 6,000 followers and I blinked and there was 1,00 more – so thank you!!

I couldn’t be more excited for this giveaway because the prize is so great. I mentioned Soleus on my Instagram a few weeks ago and my husband and I have been using their watches for a while now… they are AWESOME!

I’ll tell you a little bit about which ones we have, how we use them + then let you know how you guys can enter for a chance to win one yourself!

When I first got my watch, the Soleus GPS Sole + HRM, I could not wait to try it out. As you guys know from my favorite things lists, I had been using a combination of apps and products to track my runs. I would use the Nike+ App to track the run and my Nike Fuel Band (+ the app) to track my fuel points. I liked using the Nike app and my fuel band is on at all times but I really wanted to try out a heart rate monitor so that I could stay at my target and not waste any unnecessary energy.

The first thing I like about this watch is that it’s not too big and it fits nicely on my wrist. Some fitness watches like this can be so bulky and uncomfortable so I love that the face of this is smaller and the band is super comfortable.

The other great thing about these watches is that they do A LOT. Whatever you’re looking for in assisting you with your fitness, these watches have it. You can see the list below with all of this watches capabilities.

Obviously the watch has a ton of features but I’ll tell you how I use mine and how I’ve liked using it so far! When I first opened the watch and went to get it ready for the first run, I was a bit overwhelmed. I felt like the booklet that came with the watch was a little confusing + lacking in information but I discovered the manual online was much more comprehensive and extremely thorough. Here’s what I was looking to do with the watch:

– Keep track of my pace at each mile

– Count my calories burned

– Monitor my heart rate

The first thing I did was charge my watch using the USB charger and my laptop (you can also plug it into a wall charger) until it was at full charge. Next, I set my heart rate zone – which to me is the best part of this watch – tailored to my target. I used this formula to determine my upper and lower limits and then set my “zone” on the watch. I then set it to alert me when I go outside of the zone, meaning that the watch will vibrate if I go below or above the limits. I also made sure the HRM was connected to the watch.

I wear my fuel band on my left wrist always so I put the watch on my right wrist and strapped the HRM just under my sports bra after dampening the electrodes. I used the Nike running app on the first run (though realized afterwards I didn’t need to because the watch does everything it did + more) and my Bluetooth headphones for my music. I started the chronograph on the watch and set out on my usual route down to the beach + back.

The watch was awesome, it checked off everything on my list. On one screen it showed me how long I was running for, how many calories I burned and my heart rate. This was awesome for me because I adjusted my speed based on the heart rate. I didn’t even have to keep looking at the watch because it vibrates when I’m out of the target zone allowing me to focus on my pace. This has made a world of difference for me on my runs because I am not expelling any unnecessary energy while making sure I’m keeping my heart rate up enough to maximize the calories burned.

I absolutely love this watch and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to get the most out of their workouts and runs (among MANY other things!). Honestly, the only issue I had with this watch was that I put my iPhone (which plays my music) in my pocket on my right side during my run and there were times when the wireless transmission from the HRM + the watch disrupted the music. If you don’t use Bluetooth headphones this isn’t an issue and I had no problems once I moved the phone to the other side of my body!

My husband tried the Soleus GPS Fit (which is what you’ll have a chance to win!) and I let him write his own review since he’s the one that’s been using it the last month or so!

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One of the many perks of my wife’s amazing blog is that I often get to perform as quality control whether it’s a new recipe; type of alcohol or in this case a product I benefit from the overflow. When Soleus sent two of their watches I was able to test out the GPS FIT 1.0 and was really happy with the product.

I was pretty excited to get it out of the box and see what it could do – it’s already hard enough to find time to get to the gym or out for a run, so I consider anything that motivates me to get off my butt and get it done a success. I found the instructions to be a little confusing and struggled to get everything (time, date etc) set up but after playing around with it for a while with some help from the online manual I was all set up and ready to go for my trip to the gym the next morning.

I normally wear a G Shock during my lift to make sure I am taking proper rest periods. It’s plastic and durable so I didn’t have to worry about breaking a band or getting it sweaty. The Soleus FIT is a little smaller and gave me better range of motion with my wrist + it’s built for workout/running so it was an improvement over my current watch.

After my lift, I went to the treadmill excited to try out the FIT. I set my watch to the time function and chose indoor and hit the start button. I noticed during my run that the watch did not show any of the stats from my cardio (like calories burned, distance, etc) but I just chalked it up to human error. I was wrong and a little disappointed to find that the indoor function is just a timing mode since the watch is not able to calculate any stats without using the distance provided by the GPS. Obviously this made sense to me and it made me motivated to get out and really see what this watch could do outdoors!

In WNY we are somewhat limited in terms of warm beautiful days (see our latest winter storm) so in the summer I often choose to swap out times when I would go for a run with time on the golf course. This is where I was able to take advantage of the watch and I was really impressed with the results. I set the GPS and hit start right before I teed off for a round and after that I really didn’t notice the watch except for when it beeped to let me know each time I had completed a lap (1 mile). It was really cool to be able to look down and see the distance I traveled as well as the amount of calories I burned (which was pretty high since walking all over the place to find my ball, lol).

After my round I was able to save the data and was able to see the overall time, time per lap, average pace and calories burned. I was motivated to not only go out and play more golf to see if I could lower my score on the course, but also burn more calories. I also wanted to go for a run and compare all of my stats.

I am a HUGE fan of the Soleus FIT 1.0. As a former professional athlete I am always looking for something that motivates me to compete with myself and out-perform what I did in my last work out. I constantly find myself checking how many calories I burned, how far I went or what my pace was on my last run of round of golf and trying to top that number. The FIT is a great tool to help me get the job done!

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Now to most important part – how you can win a Soleus Fit for yourself!!